Guidelines for drinking-water quality, 4th edition

Overview

The primary purpose of the Guidelines for drinking-water quality is the protection of public health. The Guidelines provide the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for managing the risk from hazards that may compromise the safety of drinking-water.

This fourth edition of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guidelines for drinking-water quality builds on over 50 years of guidance by WHO on drinking-water quality, which has formed an authoritative basis for the setting of national regulations and standards for water safety in support of public health.

It is the product of significant revisions to clarify and elaborate on ways of implementing its recommendations of contextual hazard identification and risk management, through the establishment of health-based targets, catchment-to-consumer water safety plans and independent surveillance.